Times Of Swaziland: ESWATINI IMPORTS E200M WHEAT ANNUALLY

ESWATINI IMPORTS E200M WHEAT ANNUALLY
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BY ZWELI DLAMINI  on 11/11/2021 08:18:00


MBABANE – Eswatini imports 90 000 metric tonnes of wheat on average per year
worth E200 million and about 1 000 metric tonnes of grapes worth E6.5 million
per year.
This was confirmed by Melusi Dlamini the Communications Officer of the National
Marketing and Agricultural Board. He said both commodities could be produced
locally but only in controlled large-scale environments so that the pricing was
competitive with international producers. In a previous report, the President of
the Liquor Association Thamsanqa Hlatjwako encouraged emaSwati to brew their own
beverages which would lower the pricing for local consumers.
He said the prices were slightly steep for smaSwati in comparison to other
countries like South Africa due to the logistics that go into getting the
products to the local shelves which would be lowered if the farming processes
were done locally.
“It does not make sense that for some reason we are still failing to have our
own vineyard because it is a great business opportunity as we have a high number
of wine consumers. If we could have a vineyard then at least wine prices would
drop,” said the president. Wheat is significantly lower in cellulose and
lipids, and higher in protein and starch than barley. The varying protein level
is the most significant difference.
Yields
For one thing, wheat offers higher yields. Typical pale malt extracts run from
80 to 83 per cent, while wheat extracts run from 84 to 88 per cent. Malt is made
from grain that has been soaked, germinated (sprouted) then dried. It is derived
from various grains such as wheat, corn or rice; however, whole grain barley is
most commonly used. Malt is the sugars that come from a sprouted grain.
Traditionally for true beer this grain is barley, or sometimes barley and other
ingredients such as wheat.